Hockey is a game that has existed in some form or the other for several hundred years. Evidence shows that in Ethiopia, it was played almost 4000 years ago. In Greece, there are evidences in the form of table-pictures that show young people playing field hockey. Other places like Rome, Ireland, Scotland, Egypt, and South America have some records and evidence that reveal the history of hockey.

A slightly different form of hockey was played in England in the 17th or 18th centuries. A whole village would play against another whole village. It was possible that a team had sixty to one hundred players. Each team would try to get a ball into the opposing team's common ground. Generally, a hockey match would last for days together, and its form was chaotic, many players used to end up with broken limbs and other injuries. They used to have umpires, but umpires could not make any calls unless a player or a team asked them to do so.

With the advent of time, people used common sense and introduced stricter rules. A headmaster in England imposed restrictions on team-size consisting only 30 of his students on the field at a time. In the 1860s, some rules were noted down by Eton College of England. Then, in 1875, under the formation of Hockey Association, more rules were introduced. A field, at this time, used to be 200 meters in length and all players used to run following a ball. There were additional changes such as "pyramid" formation of 11 players. It consisted of one goalie, two backs, five forwards, and three halves. Umpires were also given the authority to make calls without being asked to by the players to do so.

In 1908, this game was played in Olympics for the first time, and only men were allowed to play. It was only in 1980 that women were allowed to play this game. Now, almost every country has a team and they compete not only in Olympics, but also in World Cup and Champion's Trophy as well.